To Love Is To Breathe
by pineappurus
Summary: If you were to choose between living painlessly for eternity and being with the one you love for only half a lifetime, which would you choose? Mio is a being so close to perfect and Ritsu is merely human. So why is Mio drawn to her? Gradual Mitsu AU, R
1. To Feel

**AN**: This story was inspired by the concept of the movie City of Angels. My first try at an AU fic.

I dedicate this one to _**Alex**_, who read all of my works and reviewed each one, thank you so much; to **_Hephaestus1923_** who sent me some love in my inbox; to **_lilazo_** who requested for a longer story, well here it is xD; to _**Hyourinmaru165**_ who favorited all my works; to _**closetotaku711**_, _**Fanamaniac**_, _**Melodic Shadows**_, and _**OtakuLeader**_ for their reviews that inspired and motivated me.

**Disclaimer**: I claim no ownership over the characters, the movie, and the band I mention in the story.

**Title**: To Love Is To Breathe (tentative)  
**Chapter Word Count**: 3,820 word(s)  
**POV**: Third person  
**Pairing(s)**: Mio x Ritsu; Ritsu x Mio (for now)  
**Summary**: AU: Mio is an angel, barely feels emotion, never gets tired, thirsty, or hungry, and has lived for millnenia and will live for eternity to serve the Maker. So why is it that a being so close to perfect like her take interest in the human that is Tainaka Ritsu? Mitsu. Multi-chap.

* * *

**To Love Is To Breathe**

* * *

As sunlight streaked the dark skies, as twilight hours ended, as morning's warmth overpowered the coolness of night time, as skies awoke and clouds parted and gave way, as the sun's rising reflection danced on the waves of the sea, as the familiar melody of proud trumpets, horns, and harps blossom from somewhere inside each of them, the angels gathered at the shore once again to welcome the coming of a new day.

They all stood there with outstretched arms and closed eyes; a daily routine and obligation. Every single angel all over the world must come to the closest body of saltwater and witness the crack of dawn. And as the sun rose, an invisible orchestra plays and only they will be able to hear it. This is the Maker's way of thanking them and reminding them of both their gifts and of their duty. To barely know of emotion, to never lack breath thus having no need for breathing, to never feel hunger and thirst, thus never needing food and water, to never feel exhaustion and thus have no need for sleep, and to stay alongside him for eternity so that they may guide and guard generations and generations of humans that enter the world and help their wandering souls find peace when they leave.

Contrary to popular belief, angels have no wings and thus cannot fly. They however do have the power to transport themselves in a blink of an eye to wherever they are needed and other unthinkable powers that they can summon only when necessary. They also only wear white robes and all possess white-colored hair and irises that change color along with the skies.

The beautiful sounds of the trumpets, horns, and harps slowly faded and the guardians awoke from their trance. It was another day, but then again time is merely an insignificant matter to these celestial beings, and their numbers thinned down as they all went out to perform their duties.

Each angel is assigned a specific number of people depending on which sphere they belong in. There are three; the first, second, and third spheres, the third being the highest, something akin to Archangels in Christianity and are the seniors since they are oldest. Angels advance when the Maker finds that they have done well and are deserving of the title and will also be able to handle a bigger number. Some angels have been in one sphere for as long as they have existed. To advance to the third sphere is also considered a huge recognition. Every decade, candidates are chosen and then chosen among them are the ones who advance to the next sphere.

"Congratulations on being chosen as candidate, Mio-senpai."

Azusa, a first sphere angel approached her senior and gave her a smile, her long pigtails swayed in the air as it carried her voice, a voice too beautiful to be heard by human ears. Her robes flowed in the air, as early morning sun shine caressed her features. Despite being considered young for an angel, it has been said that she would have advanced to the second sphere already from how good her records look but her age held her back.

"Azusa, thank you… I feel that it was premature, though. I do not think I deserve such an honor yet."

Mio, a second sphere angel and third sphere candidate, turned around to face her junior, the young angel she had taken under her wing after seeing how much they had in common, and her hair that reached the small of her back followed her movements. Her bangs fell to her face and she titled her head to the side as she gave the other angel a small humble smile. She now had her back to the sea and the breeze blew her robes forward.

"Nonsense… In all the millennia I have spent serving the Maker, I know no other angel more deserving than you, Mio."

A third voice joins in the conversation. She slowly walked towards the pair all the while she smiled softly. If there was any angel who looked close to the popular depiction of them, it would be her. The long waves of her hair danced so beautifully that anyone who watched would be caught in a trance.

"Only Azusa can probably compete."

She finished as she stood with the two other angels, each at her side.

"Ah! Mugi-senpai, congratulations on being chosen as a candidate also."

Azusa smiled and bowed politely.

"Mugi, we became candidates and advanced to the second sphere together, and now we're candidates together again."

Mio thought the two angels believed in her too much.

"Ah, indeed that is true… But I am not the one with the fanclub."

Mugi giggled. Mio sighed exasperatedly, not wanting to be reminded about that. She was disturbed to find out that the other celestial beings have made a fanclub in her honor, and was even more surprised when she found out that some of the younger and lesser angels are members. She never felt that much emotion in all of her millennia. Azusa just watched her seniors interact.

Angels can sometimes have little quirks. The Maker even enjoys seeing his most loyal servants fumble and be silly once in a millennium. They can't reach the level of perfection, after all, and can only be close to it, so somewhere on each of these majestic beings, there are tiny cracks. The Maker likes finding out where those cracks are.

One would even think that because of this, even the Maker has quirks.

The sun illuminated the island of Japan and the three angels who were the only ones left on the beach turned to each other.

"Senpais, I think we should be going now."

"Indeed. Shall we see each other again here at the next sunrise?"

"Of course."

And together they all blinked themselves to the first human on their list and started on their rounds.

* * *

As daylight disappeared, as twilight enveloped the city, as neon signs flicker to life, as regular employees hurriedly and excitedly leave their offices because it's a Friday night, as one of Tokyo's well-known bar's patrons downed their first shots and undressed the short-skirted waitresses with their eyes, the first band scheduled for tonight set up their amps and the drum kit.

This band, made up of all girls, has only recently started their rise to fame. For the past month, they had a gig every Friday night and they all were at pretty known places. Although, they all had the earliest slot, which means the bar would only have a fair amount of people, mostly patrons in it, they figured they could have done worse and gratefully accept whenever they were invited to play. This Friday night was a good one because this was the biggest bar they've ever played at.

The distorted guitar sounds reverberated in the four corners of the bar. The guitarist nodded, their amps were top quality and the acoustics of the place were perfect, she thought. She turned to her band mate who sat herself on a stool behind the expensive looking drum kit and nodded once again, silently telling her that they were game for sound check number one before the show starts.

1… 2… 3…

The drummer crossed her sticks above her head for all her band mates to see. She clashed them together along with each number.

1, 2, 3!

The band went over the choruses of the songs on their song list, all original compositions. They were good. They immediately caught the attention of the few early birds who wanted to get as much alcohol in their system as possible tonight. But they still had that aura of being amateur around them.

Most of their songs were rock 'n roll. One would think they sound like The Runaways with how they play. They had one or two slower songs but still not the kind that would put you to sleep. There were a few mistakes here and there as they ran through the songs. The guitarist seemed a little childish with how she moved, the bassist seemed to not be paying attention to the drummer, and said drummer rushed in some parts of the song, but sounded good together and they enjoyed playing together so they thought everything was okay.

The drummer got up and faced the microphone positioned beside the drum set.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, we're _Wild Child_ and we're first up tonight. We hope you like what we've prepared for you."

The drummer walked back to her drums, sat and began her count.

1… 2… 3… 4… 1, 2, 3, 4!

The guitarist went through the riff at the song's intro smoothly, the drummer was obviously pumped up which made her drumming powerful, the bassist's low tones accentuated the beats and added depth to the sound, the keyboardist hit the keys expertly and blended in perfectly.

They played four songs and took a water break. The girls panted and wiped the sweat from their brow. The bar's population doubled and this only served to motivate them and energize them.

A bespectacled woman who looked young for someone who was already in their thirties, approached the stage causing the heads of men of all ages to turn and follow. They stared at her ass like how starved tigers would at a piece of meat. She gave the band two thumbs up, and grinned.

"Big pay tonight girls, biggest we've ever had. Let's celebrate. Drinks are on me later."

She said and the girls on the stage perked up even more.

"Yeaah! That's what I'm talking about!"

The drummer raised her fist in the air. The woman walked back to her stool at the bar and ordered another shot of vodka.

"Okay guys, break time is over. Time to rock."

They started their second set and played with even more intensity than their first.

Soon, they had to get off the stage as the second band arrived along with what they could only assume to be a mob of groupies that packed the place and made it harder to move around.

They all headed backstage and went inside the dressing room for the musicians. They collected their things and grabbed their coats from the coat rack and went out to meet up with their bespectacled manager.

"Geez, I feel so envious of bands like them! So many fans following them around, showing up at every gig and asking for autographs. Don't you think it would be nice if we had that too, Ricchan?"

Hirasawa Yui, their airheaded guitarist, turned to the band's drummer, a finger to her lip, short brown hair bouncing, as her imagination surely ran wild with strange ideas. She doesn't look like it, but she can have moments where she rocks that guitar of hers like a prodigy.

"Yeah, but I think that would just lose its magic later and it would end up just being a pain in the ass. Besides, Yui, imagine what would happen to you if you accidentally trip on an amp cord and fall into the sea of groupies. That would be a nightmare."

Tainaka Ritsu, the band's drummer and leader figure, shook her head at the image of her friend crying and calling out her sister's name. She moved to take off the headband she has been sporting all night. She felt its grip loosen and it slowly slid down her head sometime during their last three songs. Her long ochre bangs fell to her face and she closed her left eye in reflex as she felt the strands poke her. She combed her fingers through then pushed her fringe back and quickly slipped the yellow band back on. It was her favorite out of all the headbands she had.

She felt Yui grip her arm. The girl quivered and there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Ritsu sighed.

"Uiii~"

The guitarist whined to her sister, the band's keyboardist, who walked a few steps ahead of her. They both looked so alike that one would mistake them for twins. Ui wore her short hair in a ponytail. She is so different from her sister just due to the fact that she rarely messes things up. Give Yui something that isn't guitar related and you can't expect more than a disaster from the girl.

"Onee-chan?"

The younger and more responsible sister looked behind her, to the older one, in question. The older one gripped the younger's arm.

"Ui," Yui sniffed. "Don't let me fall into a sea of groupies, okay?"

Ui stared for a moment wondering what her sister was talking about, but then after she realized that this was her sister talking, she linked arms with her sister and just smiled.

"Of course, of course."

Beside Ui, their bassist sighed. Jun was Ui's friend and former classmate. One afternoon, back in their high school days, Ritsu had impulsively decided that she and the Hirasawa sisters should form a band, and after she randomly mentioned this to Jun, the girl asked if she could join. Then they heard that the Light Music Club of their school was about to get disbanded and they all decided that they should reviver it. That's where everything started.

"Oh, Sawa-chan sensei."

They found their manager sitting on one of the couches backstage. Sawako was their teacher in high school. She had the image of a sweet, kind, and gentle woman. But one day, after rummaging through old boxes in their high school's music room they found a photo album of the band of girls who were the previous members of Keion. They were shocked to find out that the woman in one photograph, who sported make-up and face paint, wore tattered clothes with piercings, and had streaks of neon highlights in her hair was their lovely teacher, Yamanaka Sawako.

Ritsu had blackmailed her into agreeing to become the faculty advisor of their club and from then on, they had all become friends in the way only a strange bunch like this could.

"First one to get knocked out buys the drinks next time."

Their manager turned to them, laughed an evil laugh, and then hiccupped.

"I think we should pass tonight, Sawa-chan. You're already tipsy. We should all just head home and rest, then celebrate tomorrow night."

Ritsu suggested and scanned the faces of all of her band mates and saw them all nod. She turned to Sawako only to be greeted with the sight of their manager, head in her hands and groaning.

They all sweatdropped at this.

"I guess I'll drive sensei home since I'm closest to her."

Jun piped up and volunteered with as much reluctance she could muster. Ui patted her shoulder feeling sympathy for her friend.

"Well, we'll be on our way also."

The sisters turned to Jun and then to Ritsu, waved and walked off.

"Lemme help you carry Sawa-chan to her car."

Jun nodded gratefully at her senpai and moved to assist their teacher turned manager to her feet.

* * *

The skies were already dark and the streets were illuminated by the various establishments in the city's center for night activities. It was late and no one should walk home at this hour. Ritsu wasn't _just anyone_, though, she reasoned out.

The streets were unsafe, she knew, but she's done this for so many times that she's confident that nothing bad would ever happen to her. She also wanted to have some alone time, to just think about the recent changes in her life.

Mio had finished her rounds for the third time that day and most of her wards were safely tucked in their beds anyway, so she decided to take a little break and walked around the still awake parts of the city. With her long white robe, she looked like she was floating. What a sight she was to behold! But humans can't see her; they were too undeserving of that privilege. She shook her head reminiscing of the time when humans tainted themselves with the foul elements out of too much curiosity or greed or both.

Ritsu had decided to walk through the dark alley instead of the better lit one because that place always stinks of something rotten and dead. She had a gut feeling that she would come to regret this decision later. Unfortunately, her gut feeling would prove her right.

Mio felt drawn to explore the shady parts of the city where criminals roamed the streets freely and many rookie police officers had been incapacitated or killed, for some reason.

With her sharp hearing, she picked up a loud scream for help from an alley meters away from her. She closed her eyes and blinked herself to the source of it.

Ritsu imitated the sounds of drum beats under her breath as she walked. She then had the strange sensation that someone was following her. She looked behind her but there was no one there. She went on but she was more aware of her surroundings this time. The feeling kept nagging at her so she looked back again. Nothing.

She was about to take another step when someone grabbed her from behind with an arm around her midsection and a hand holding a piece of cloth covered her nose and mouth.

She smelled it. The cloth was doused with chloroform. Shit.

She reacted as fast as she could or else she would be dead, robbed, raped or all three in thirty minutes. She kicked her captor in the shin as hard as she could. Her captor gave a pained yelp and his grip on Ritsu loosened.

Ritsu took the chance and with as much strength she could muster, leapt out of the man's arms then screamed for help as loud as she could. She hit the ground with a loud thud and willed her body to get up, but it seems that her body was unable to listen to her. _Shit. Shit. This is bad. Shit._

The chloroform kicked in and she was quickly getting dizzy. Soon she'd be unconscious and this man could freely do whatever he wanted with her.

She watched the man with tattered clothes approach her slowly. She could see his perverted grin through her blurred and fuzzy vision. A chill went down her spine and there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Her eye closed, the chloroform taking effect, and her whole body shut down.

Just then Mio blinked herself between a man and a girl lying down on the ground. She looked at the girl, then turned to face the man and looked back at the unconscious body on the ground.

Let it be said that for the first time in all the millennia of Mio's existence and in the history of angels that tonight would be the first where Mio felt a surge of irrational anger at the man, and that she is the first of the angels to be able to feel this much emotion.

Mio, with all of her angelic glory and celestial powers, put up the strongest light barrier between her and the man who reeked of all the foul elements of the world.

The man was surprised that all of a sudden a strong and blinding light appeared between him and his prey. He stumbled back and groans in pain. His groans grew into sobs as he held his face.

"Aaah! My eyes! My eyes! They're burning!"

His blood curling scream was laced with pain and blood was gushing between his fingers.

"MIO!"

Mio was pulled back to reality. The light that surrounded her vanished suddenly and she turned to face the very familiar voice that came from behind her. She took a step back. She didn't know what she had done, she had just… _reacted_. She didn't know why… She just… She…

The beautiful form of Mugi stood there, a hand on slightly parted lips, the other on her chest, eyes wide.

"I… I didn't know what I was doing, Mugi… I wasn't aware… I don't… I just did it…"

There was a quiver in Mio's voice and all of this brought on a foreign feeling at the bottom of Mugi's stomach. Was it… _Dread? Fear?_

"Mio… She was mine…"

Mugi whispered so quietly that if it wasn't for an angel's hearing Mio would not have heard it. Mio took another step back. _Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no… This was bad._

If there was one rule angels were never supposed to break in their existence, it was meddling with another angel's ward. Once a person becomes an angel's ward, they would be theirs until their death. Meddling with another angel's ward is a sign of greed, one of the foulest of elements.

She just succumbed to the foul elements. She tainted herself. She would be demoted. She might even be stripped of her title as an angel. She would be left to float through her existence with no purpose, banned from interaction with other celestial beings.

Mugi realized what must be going through the other angel's mind. If angels had a heart, Mugi's would have ached for her friend at that moment. So she did what she thought was the best thing to do.

She took Mio's hands in her own, one in each. The angel's head was bowed down in shame for what she did.

"Mio, I promise to not tell the Maker."

Mugi tried to peer up and look into Mio's eyes.

"No, no… I'm sure he already knows. He only makes us submit written reports about our wards for formality, but he sees everything, Mugi."

"But, I can't let anything happen to you, Mio. I can't let you lose it all. And besides, I should've been here before you."

Mio looked up at her friend and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It's not your fault at all. But, thank you for all this, Mugi."

Mugi pulled back.

"I know you, Mio. You wouldn't have done that for no reason at all… And I know the Maker knows that. Don't worry, okay?"

She assured the other angel with a soft smile on her face. Mio smiled back gratefully at her.

"I'll just take care of this one, okay, Mio? I'll see you at sunrise."

Mugi turned to her unconscious ward. She crouched down and laid a palm on the human girl's forehead. They blinked out of Mio's sight and probably to the human's home.

* * *

Somewhere up in the heavens, the most powerful entity watched over them. One of his top angels just broke laws he himself had made, not out of disobedience and disrespect, but out of a sudden surge of human emotion.

He never knew his angels were capable of that. He never made them to be capable of that.

_This was certainly interesting…_

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

**AN**: Whew, that was long! I pushed myself to finish this before the day ended, and decided that instead of dedicating oneshots to each person who's given me love by sending awesome and helpful reviews, I decided to write a multi-chap AU fic that would make you all go gaga over Mitsu. xD

What do you think? Do any of you have questions? Did anything confuse you? All reactions are welcome! Feel free to point out my mistakes! Til next update! :D

**AN 2**: I polished some rough sentences and fixed some words with missing letters :) Thank you for pointing it out, guys! The story summary will change later and lots of stuff will happen. :D Thanks again!

**_~pineappurus_**


	2. To Be Curious

**AN**: Ah! This should've been up yesterday but my best friend came over and stayed til 10:30pm. Then I typed this til sometime around three with broken glasses xD Despite being the one who writes this story, I have a weird excitement and enthusiasm and I can't wait to see where things will go, myself xD This chapter didn't go as planned. The things that were supposed to happen in here ended up getting split into two because this one ended up a lot longer than I expected. This will serve as a good intro for the third chapter though, so you guys keep your hats on for that!

Btw, last chapter's title was 'To Feel' and I had to use this one instead of what I had in mind.

**Chapter Word Count**: 3,452 word(s)  
**POV**: Third person  
**Chapter Summary**: Mio decided to investigate on the human girl. Mugi decided to help her friend. What do they find out? Whatever it was, it surely wasn't what they expected.

* * *

**To Be Curious**

* * *

The colors of the sky slowly changed from the darkness the early morning to twilight where day and night struggled and finally broke into dawn. Mio had spent all those hours standing alone on the beach and watched time crawl. Her unique irises mirrored the sky, shifted from dark orbs that cradled numerous tiny specks of starlight to the twilight hour's battle of light and dark and lastly to the sun rise. Thoughts and worries plagued her mind about the previous night's happenings.

What had happened to her? What had she done? What had gone through her mind? Did she even have control over her mind? Why had she reacted that way?

And above all those, _who was the girl?_

Mio had the gut feeling that if she found out the answers to the last question, she would surely and easily find the answers to the rest.

After Mugi left, she realized that the man who had attempted to hurt her friend's ward was still prone on the ground. The man had been sobbing the whole time, unaware of what had transpired between the two angels. The thoughts that entered her mind then shocked her. _How pathetic... How disgusting… One of the lowest of their kind…_

Her eyes widened right after those thoughts passed through her head. She then realized that it probably was from residual anger. _Anger…_

It seems that she tainted herself once again. She felt so much more last night than she's ever felt in her millennia of existence. She had gone from greedy, angered, and terrified all in a matter of seconds. What was wrong with her?

She could have blinked herself to the beach so easily if she wanted to. That night, she chose to walk like a normal human being. She let herself get lost in her own head. It wouldn't be smart of her to just leave things be and forget about everything. No, she had to figure this out. She needed to. _Badly…_

What if she had some kind of disease? She would need to be cured right away…

And as she hammered her head with question after question, hypothesis after hypothesis, she also watched time crawl oh so painfully slow. Despite being caught up in her wonderings, she was hyperaware of the seconds that ticked by.

Time did not matter to angels as they would live for all eternity, as long as the Maker would let them live. At least, it was not supposed to. Many came to not even bother looking up at the sky other than during sun rise because they never needed to find out what time it was.

_Maybe,_ Mio thought, _this would be my last sunrise as an angel. Maybe I would soon lose it all. Maybe that's why I'm all too aware of every single thing. Every cricket, every cloud, every breeze…_

Mio hoped that this was not the case.

The angels slowly trickled into the beach. The sun rise was merely minutes away.

As each angel blinked themselves to the beach, they sent her a glance; another unusual thing. Angels never gossiped, it was too lowly for them. But if they did and if they could, they would've all gathered around then and there and talked endlessly about Mio. The fact that they knew did not surprise her, though.

_That was such a strong barrier of light. In no way could it have gone unnoticed and not have caught at least two or three angels' attention._

In order to use the light barrier, one of the powers of intervention, angels must have wills strong enough to beckon the energy of pure light to them. Although not exactly considered a rare power, not all angels have the ability to do this.

But she just did that in a fraction of a second with such intensity out of the urge to protect the human.

_Protect?_

Before she could react to that and dissect her thoughts, she felt a hand lay gently on her shoulder and she turned. Mugi's long wavy locks swayed behind her as her friend smiled sweetly at her.

The sun peeked over the horizon and the invisible orchestra once again played the most beautiful melody. Mio turned to face the sun once again and stretched out her arms, her wide sleeves flowed beautifully with the breeze.

If the Maker wanted to punish her for what she had done the perfect time for that would be now.

Mio closed her eyes. She waited and waited. Seconds went by, then minutes. Nothing happened. The trumpets and harps and horns played on. She felt warm and her chest swelled.

The sun rose higher and the sounds faded. Mio opened her eyes.

"See, Mio? The Maker understood."

Mugi took her friend's hands into hers for the second time in all the millennia they have known each other. If angels had tear ducts, Mio would have had tears in the corners of her eyes. She turned to her friend and smiled genuinely and beautifully.

"Mio-senpai… Mugi-senpai…"

Behind Mugi, came the voice of their junior, noticeably quieter with a tinge of uncertainty. Her head was bowed slightly. They both turned to Azusa. Mugi moved a step to her right to allow the younger angel to come closer to the two of them.

The junior reflexively took a step forward, pigtails going along with the small movement, and raised her chin but kept her line of sight to the ground. The two older angels waited for her to ask the question they both knew was bothering her.

"Senpais, forgive me for being rude!"

She bowed from the waist and the action surprised Mio and Mugi a bit.

"But, I must ask…"

Her voice once again grew quiet but her seniors' hearing picked it up clearly.

"Are… are the rumors true?"

Azusa hesitated then closed her eyes and let the question fly out. She had to know. She absolutely _had to. _She defended her senpai with all the passion an angel could muster. As she blinked herself to the beach she overheard an angel a few feet from her tell another that her beloved Mio senpai had called on such a powerful light barrier last night to protect another angel's ward. She heard them say that her senpai had tainted herself with one of the foulest of elements, greed. She turned to those angels and told them that it wasn't true, that her Mio-senpai would never do such a thing. They only looked at her blankly then turned to the sun.

"It depends… Were those rumors about me calling on a barrier of light to protect Mugi's ward out of greed?"

Azusa shot up straight. The human was Mugi-senpai's? Her iris skies turned to her other senior who only looked back at her with a small smile. There was never a time when Azusa saw her senpai without a sweet smile on her face.

"Y-yes…"

She looked down again, embarrassed that she could ask such a thing. She should have more faith in her senpais.

"Indeed, they are true."

Mugi answered and her junior looked up to see if she was serious. Azusa's eyes widened.

"But don't you think I would have been punished by now?"

The junior turned to her Mio-senpai and nodded slightly, not really understanding what her senior meant.

"Azusa, that means, whatever was the reason for what Mio did, the Maker understood and He does not fault Mio for it."

The junior paused and thought for a second. She then realized her Mugi-senpai was right and so she allowed herself to smile at her Mio-senpai and nodded. The two older angels just smiled at their junior, happy that she believed in them.

"Senpais, I have to start on my rounds now. Thank you for understanding and not being offended."

She dipped her head quickly once more.

"See you next sunrise."

"Ah, it's us who must thank you, Azusa… Thank you for believing us. We will definitely see you next sunrise."

The second sphere angels waved to Azusa just before the girl blinked herself out of the beach.

The smile disappeared from Mio's face right after the second their junior did. She turned to her friend and took the hand that was near hers.

"Mugi, I have to ask you something… About that human last night…"

"Ah, you mean my ward, Ritsu?"

The two friends looked into each other's eyes; irises of the morning sky met similar ones and both pairs searched the other. They have known each other for so long and have learned to hear what the other left unsaid.

"Mugi, is there anything special about this human? I have been thinking about what transpired last night and I have so many questions I can't find the answers to…"

"Ah…"

Mugi put an index finger to her chin and thought about all the details about the human's life. Her ward was a drummer, loud, oftentimes lazy, sometimes greedy, and even a little bit manipulative. _No… Nothing special… Just another normal human…._

Mugi shook her head.

"Sorry, Mio, but no, other than her love for music; she's just like the others."

For some reason Mio could not understand, she felt a tinge of disappointment. Somewhere deep inside, she had wished that Mugi would say that the human was extraordinary, that she was almost like a mortal angel. All these new and foreign sensations frightened Mio. She swore to herself that she would figure things out somehow.

"Well, we better start on our rounds. We're the only ones left here on the beach once again. I'll see you, Mio."

The angel's smile grew and she waved just before she blinked herself out. Mio looked up to the sky. _Help me figure things out? _She asked the Maker telepathically. He would hear her, she knew. He _always_ does.

And Mio blinked herself to her first ward for the day.

* * *

Car horns blared and restaurants near corporate buildings filled with hurrying business men as noon came.

Mugi was almost done with her first round and she thought about her dear friend before she blinked herself to her next human, the girl from the incident last night.

The angel appeared in the girl's small apartment just as she brushed her teeth. Ritsu had a bandage that covered up the wound that went from her temple, down to just the side of her under cheek. The girl looked like she had just woken up and was getting ready to go to the music store where she worked.

Mugi had made sure to alter the girl's memory a bit, not really erasing anything, but just gave the her vague and fuzzy bits of memory of someone coming to her aid, bringing her home, tending to her wounds and leaving right after. Of all the celestial beings, angels had the most varied abilities because their job requires them to deal with a variety of humans.

The angel recalled the conversation between her and Mio. She wondered if there really was something about this human that she failed to notice all these years and that her friend sensed that night. She decided that she would stay and follow Ritsu for a while before she moved on to her next ward.

The girl had finished brushing her teeth and now combed her fingers through free bangs. She then pushed her forelock back and placed her favorite yellow band atop her head. She patted her white polo smooth, rolled her sleeves up until above her elbows and nodded approvingly at her reflection. She moved to retrieve her messenger bag, slinged it over her shoulder, her drumsticks poking out from under the flap, grabbed her keys and left the apartment.

Mugi stayed inside, standing in the middle of the small living room and held a hand up, the tips of her fingers almost touching her lips as she giggled.

There was an audible click from the door and the knob twisted and it creaked open as Ritsu reentered her home slumped with a hand scratching the back of her head.

"I forgot to put on shoes."

Ritsu sighed. Mugi nodded and the human passed by her unaware of the angel's presence. She went upstairs, removed the now dirty socks from the dirt outside, and put on white sneakers.

She locked her apartment door and thought of any other possible things she may have forgotten. _Keys? Check. Phone? Check. Drumsticks? Check. Wallet? Oh, crap… Oh wait, there it is. Check._ She then decided that anything else she might have left can't be of much importance. She jogged to the music store where she worked.

Mugi stayed inside the apartment for a while. She decided to snoop around for a bit since it would take a while before her ward reached her workplace.

Ritsu worked in the music store Sawa-chan was the manager and half-owner of. She would assist the woman with things regarding percussion instruments since Sawako only had little basic knowledge of those. She knew everything there was to know about the guitar and almost as much with the bass and a lot with the keyboards and pianos, but when it comes to drums she was no more than a beginner. Ritsu also works as a music teacher on Saturdays when there are parents willing to pay for their kids' lessons. Usually, she gets a handful of kids during summer vacation.

Mugi went into Ritsu's room and looked around. It seemed pretty normal to her, a bit messy, yes, but normal. She then notices a couple of tiny tomes lined up on a bedside desk. _Wait, they called those books now, right?_

She walked to the desk to do a closer inspection. If her human ward keeps any information that might help Mio and her to figure out what it was about the human that made her friend react the way she did it should be in these _books_, right? She stood right in front of the desk and picked up onethat had the label 'Vol. 1' on the spine and opened it to a random page.

If angels could blush, a pink hue would have covered Mugi's cheeks. She put a hand to her heart and couldn't control the smile that crept up her face, and her eyes began to sparkle.

What she picked up was a manga, and on the top of random page she opened was a picture of two women locked in an embrace, faces inches from each other, and lips parted.

She shook her head to try to focus on matters at hand. She had to help Mio. She reluctantly closed the _book_ and placed it back where it was on the desk and blinked herself to Ritsu's work place.

She appeared right behind Ritsu, who was crouched to the floor tinkering with a bass drum's pedal behind the model set they had set up just behind the glass windows of the shop for passersby to see.

"Hey, Sawa-chan, any kids apply for drum lessons?"

Ritsu called out, without looking up from what she was doing, to the bespectacled woman who was currently doing an inventory check on her laptop for all the instruments they had.

"Nope."

Sawako worked on her computer, and also did not look up from the screen, the keys audible clicks the only other sounds that could be heard in the store. No customers had come for the day yet.

Just then, Mugi felt a presence near the door and her instincts proved her correct.

Mio just blinked herself in the store, eyes wide. She had just finished her first round and wanted to investigate on the human she saved. She impulsively decided to do so and never thought that she would see Mugi there, watching over the girl. _Stupid… She is Mugi's ward… How could I not have considered it a possibility? Stupid, stupid._

"Oh, Mio! I never expected to see you before the next sunrise."

As usual, Mugi smiled warmly at her friend. She did not throw any words of accusation or insult at Mio. Mio was so grateful to have a friend like her. She smiled back with as much warmth.

"Neither did I... I just can't push the thoughts away and they have been nagging me as I made my rounds. I found it hard to focus... I decided I should go check the human out before I start my second."

Mio walked to where her friend stood over the girl who was busy still. The two angels just watched the human work until they heard the sound of the glass door of the shop open. All head turned angel and human, to see whoever it was that entered, and in the humans' case, if it was a customer.

Ritsu and Sawako deflated when they saw that it was a familiar face and not a customer. The two angels perked up with curiosity at the newcomer. _Something about her was different… Something was out of place..._

"Oh it's just you, Norimi."

Ritsu went back to her work.

"I thought it was a customer."

Sawako pouted and crossed her arms.

"What's with that? Not happy to see me?"

Norimi said with a smirk and cockily walked around Sawako's desk to stand beside the other woman. Sawako turned on her computer chair to face her.

The woman looked to be about Sawako's age, with really short hair and had three piercings on each ear. She had her hands on her hips, hips cocked slightly to the right and stood confidently. The angels watched her move, inspected her from head to toe.

What they did not see was that Norimi sent a fleeting look to their direction from the corners of her eyes.

She leaned down, and to the surprise of the angels in the store and to Ritsu's dismay, gave Sawako a lingering kiss on the lips.

The angels froze at what they saw. They hadn't expected that at all. They have heard about humans being with others of the same sex but never had the chance to see it firsthand. If their wards were like that, then they were clueless since they only get a few minutes for every single day with their humans, combined. There were too many to stay too long in one place.

Mugi's clear blue eyes sparkled and she clasped her hands and brought them to her chest where a human's heart would be. Mio was still paralyzed from shock and did not move.

Norimi and Sawako's kiss grew passionately as each second passed. Their mouths parted open and their tongues started a fiery dance.

"Geez! Get a room, will you? For crying out loud, this is my work place!"

Ritsu threw her arms up in exasperation and the two women pulled away from each other. Mugi visibly deflated and muttered a barely audible but obviously disappointed, _'oh'_. Mio stayed frozen.

Just then something really odd happened that snapped the two angels out of their equal but completely different despairs.

_Norimi looked directly at them and smirked._

_Impossible!_ They both thought. The angels turned to each other with wide eyes to confirm if they both saw the same thing. They saw that they wore similar expressions and their heads whipped back to the woman.

Norimi was conversing with Sawako about something regarding stupid customers and disobedient staff.

"Did she just—."

Mugi's question was cut off.

"Of course not. That's impossible. She was probably looking at your human and her eyes probably just passed us, or something."

Mio was shaking her head. She felt something heavy at the bottom of her stomach but she brushed it aside. _Humans can't see us. _She told herself.

Mugi just nodded in agreement. She had her doubts, though. Too many freaky stuff happened, more than what's happened in all of her millennia. She's sure her friend felt the same, if the look on her face was anything to go by.

"I think I should start on my second round."

Mio suddenly realized that she has spent too much time in the store. Mugi gave a small gasp, the tips of her fingers to her lips.

"I haven't even finished my first yet!"

They both nodded, an unspoken _'see you' _in the air and blinked themselves out of the music store.

And once they were gone, Norimi's eyes went back to the spot where they stood, a smile played on her lips.

* * *

Somewhere up in the skies, the Maker watched. He _'tsked' _disapprovingly when he saw his two angels spent more time than they could afford to waste at the store. And when the short haired woman entered, his brows shot up.

_Ah, it's definitely gotten more interesting…_

**_To B__e__ Continued..._**

* * *

**AN**: This is definitely different from the things I usually write! I am having so much fun doing this! I know nothing much happened here and for that I am sorry. D: Promise I'll type chapter three once I get my glasses back, okay?

What do you guys think? All of your thoughts are welcome! :)

**AN 2**: I just edited a few sentences that were rough. :D Got my glasses back! Starting Chapter 3 once I post this.

**_~pineappurus_**


	3. To Desire

**AN**: This is getting harder to write because the story is getting more complicated. Too complicated than what I had in mind actually. I wasn't going to publish this yet but then thought what the hell. The next chapter is already in the works. This story is slower than my other ones. Mitsu would be gradual. But I swear to try my best to make all of this worth it. New character at the end of this chapter. Everyone's mentioned for a reason.

**Chapter Word Count**: 4,159 word(s)  
**POV**: Third person  
**Summary**: How far can Mio's curiosity take her? What is this new emotion that's engulfing her?

* * *

**To Desire**

* * *

The usual crowd of angels gathered at the beach. The same trumpets, horns, and harps played and the sun rose. Their eye colors shifted along with the skies. It was a wonderful sight. This went on just like it had for millennia, since the very first angels were created, and will go on for all eternity. The celestial guardians never got tired of it, not even for a single day. This was their time of peace. This was the Maker's gift.

Mio stood beside her friends, fellow third sphere candidate Mugi and the junior Azusa, all of them caught in their usual trance, all with outstretched arms and hair fluttering in the light breeze, all of them listened like it was the first time they've ever heard the song. She closed her eyes and let herself be lost in the music, let herself forget about what had happened.

It has been almost a month, and for every single day since meeting the human that made her do strange and near-impossible things and incited such strong feelings inside of her, Mio observed her, blinked to her in between rounds to just watch her go about her mortal life.

The human Ritsu did nothing special yet she intrigued Mio to no end, and this just frustrated the angel. Sometimes she and Mugi would see each other and observe the girl together. Mio would never admit it to anyone, but deep inside she knew that something more than curiosity kept her going back to the girl no matter what kind of silly human thing or situation she catches her friend's ward in.

There was one instance where Mio blinked to the girl and she was standing in the girl's small living and dining area, just adjacent to her equally tiny bedroom. She looked around and let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting, the only light coming from the setting sun. She found the girl standing on a stool and was reaching at something that was on the ceiling. The human girl had tied her forelock up with an elastic band and divided the rest of her short hair into two pigtails. Mio thought the human looked especially weird with her hair like that, with three little locks sticking out from her head, but in a good way. She just watched her and she realized that the human was unscrewing a light bulb.

Mio understood the evolution in human technology better than her friend Mugi, but what she knew wasn't really much, so she only assumed that the girl might be replacing the old bulb with a new one.

"_AK!_"

The girl coughed and sneezed and dusted herself. After unscrewing the old bulb, the months-old dust and grime that wedged their way in, fell on her hair and clothes and on the table.

"Oh man, that is_ disgusting_. I should clean more."

Ritsu groaned. She thanked the heavens that she didn't have her mouth open when the gross evidence of her laziness at keeping her place clean fell on her. She dusted herself again, swatting at her shoulders and arms and then at her hair. She picked up the new bulb and screwed it in tight. She gave two thumbs up at the new bulb and hopped off the stool to take a shower and wash the filth away.

If angels breathed, Mio would have sighed deeply at the scene she witnessed. She wasn't sure if the capacity of the girl to act like such a sloth sometimes was admirable or completely repulsive. Her face muscles merely twitched during the whole incident.

The girl lived alone so it was understandable that she had little space. Mio found out that the girl also rarely stayed at home since she found herself in different places every time, so she also thought that that might be the cause of her not having done a general cleaning of her apartment.

Mio also once blinked herself to some kind of gathering where the human threw back small glasses of liquor like it was water. This repulsed Mio. They were tainting themselves with the foul elements, but really, she couldn't expect more from humans.

The human, no, _Ritsu_, was with others of her kind and they were all drinking and laughing. An image of Mugi reprimanding her for calling her ward 'human' and 'girl' popped into her mind. The angel had requested her to call her ward by her name. Mugi thought it was so cold of Mio to call Ritsu anything other than her name. She stayed to observe them for a bit. They were in a dimly lit place with flashing lights and humans writhing like lunatics to loud music. Or at least, what noise humans now call as music.

Ritsu was obviously intoxicated and so were the others. They all sat in a booth a bit far from the dance floor. They were celebrating the huge pay they received from last Friday's gig at a nightclub and were competing against one another to see who could hold their liquor in best. Their keyboardist was still aware and awake, and made sure to drink only a little. She was the designated driver after all, since she's the only one responsible enough to watch her alcohol intake. Sawako ordered another round of drinks.

"Sawako-sensei, don't you think you should take it easy?"

Ui asked her teacher turned manager in concern. The woman drank like a sailor and was now also starting to curse like one.

"My, my, _Ui-chan_~ No need to worry about me. I've got an amazing metabolism."

Sawako pushed her sleeves up and bent her arm to flex her biceps. Ui wondered what her teacher's biceps had to do with her metabolism. The woman took two shot glasses and downed one after the other before sucking on a lime. She just sighed and turned to her sister who was laughing with their drummer about the most nonsensical and unfunny things.

"Yui, did you know that the plural of octopus isn't octopuses, but octopi?"

Ritsu suddenly turned to Yui and slapped the girl a bit too hard than she had intended. Yui turned to her with wide eyes. She covered her face and her cheeks puffed.

"Pffft— that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

Ui watched her sister and Ritsu double over in laughter; Ritsu even slapped her knee while she laughed loudly. The younger girl didn't know whether to do a face-palm or to laugh at the silliness of their conversation.

"I know right! That's like saying the sun is a star! Like, what the heck, how can the sun be a star when it's the sun, right?"

Ui sweat-dropped, sighed and mentally face-palmed instead, at them. Her sister and friend laughed like they had all the joy and glee in the world. _Alcohol kills brain cells, right?_ She looked at the glass she had in hand and suddenly decided that she had enough drinks for tonight and set it back on the table.

Just then Jun put an arm around her shoulders and began to press herself to Ui's side. _Oh, no… Not this…_ Ui thought with dread.

"_Uuuiiii~_ you're _sooo_ pretty tonight…"

Jun's speech was slurred as her other hand swirled the liquor in her glass, head lying on Ui's shoulder. Ui knew that the girl did not have any feelings towards her. Alcohol just had this effect on her friend where anything that was human and had four limbs was attractive and she'd then proceed to try to hook up with them. Ui was her usual target.

"Jun, that's just the alcohol talking."

The keyboardist valiantly tried to keep her friend's roaming hands from herself.

Mio stood by the booth and watched the humans interact. She felt sorry for the ponytailed girl who had to take care of all of her almost drunk friends. Then she decided that her break time is over and she blinked herself to her first ward for the third time that day.

The angel shook her head at the memory.

But then there were those shocking and petrifying times where the girl would make her _feel_ things again.

One time, she had mistakenly blinked herself inside Ritsu's shower while the human bathed. Of course Mio had seen numerous humans, all from different eras, with nothing covering their bare skin, but she's never blinked into situations like these, not once, not with all the wards she has had. She's blinked herself to her wards bathing, of course, but she made sure that she would give them the courtesy of blinking herself outside the bathroom or outside the shower curtain because she respected the humans' privacy.

She wanted to strangle herself as she thought back to that incident.

She hadn't been focusing too hard when she blinked, just thought about the girl and not where she probably was or where might be at, and she opened her eyes to steam, the shower spraying hot water, and Ritsu's bare back covered in tiny water droplets.

Mio's eyes widened and she froze. She was so surprised that she couldn't even think of blinking herself outside. If angels could blush, her _whole body_ would've been _beet red_. She just stood there, invisible, and hadn't even thought of covering her eyes.

She berated herself for not reacting fast enough. She mentally slapped herself over and over again as she recalled that moment.

She wished so badly that she did, because Ritsu had just closed the shower and turned to face her. Now _there_ was an emotion angels were not supposed to feel _at all_. She started feeling hot all over her body, like little flames danced all over her skin.

She was _aroused_.

Ritsu's wet bangs fell to her face, her eyes were half-lidded and she sighed contentedly. She turned around and moved to open the curtain a few inches so she could grab the towel that hung from the hook stuck to the tiled wall.

Mio felt like something got caught in her throat and felt the heat coil somewhere below her stomach. She swallowed and winced at how dry and rough it felt. There was a louding pounding in her ears and she started to get dizzy. She saw that Ritsu inched closer and closer to her and as the steam slowly disappeared, the human's nude body became even more visible and clear. Mio's eyes were now free to roam every inch of exposed flesh. She did so, unabashedly, all the earlier apprehension and embarrassment evaporated. And as her eyes became more and more daring, the heat spread throughout her body like a forest fire and her mind became more and more fuzzy.

She could still feel the tendrils of heat come to life and try to take hold of her as she replayed it all in her head.

Mio almost screamed when she saw the girl's arm reach out, and in a flurry of too much arousal, confusion, fear, and panic she blinked herself to the beach.

Once she opened her eyes and saw that there was no more naked human girl in front of her, and sea water, waves and sand instead, she crouched down on to the floor slowly, quivering. She made herself small and covered a hand to each ear and rocked herself back and forth.

_I did not see anything… I did not feel anything… Nothing happened… Nothing happened…_

See, no angel has ever experienced the things Mio had in the past month. Well, at least, none that she knew. And she basically knew all of them since she has walked different planes of existence in all of her millennia. So it's no brain twister that all of these new things frightened her and made her feel _powerless._

Angels were far from powerless beings. From the last month's happenings, Mio had now started to doubt if she _even_ was an angel. _What's happening to me?_ If angels had tear ducts, Mio would have sobbed hysterically.

She could not believe what had happened. The events that had just taken place trumped out everything else. Those seemed like normal and every day incidents for an angel compared to this one. Mio did not know what to do anymore; she just wanted an end to all of this.

Then she realized that she had been feeling something angels were incapable of feeling all this time: _exhaustion_. Mio quivered even more at the realization. Fear and dread and all these new emotions started eating at her and she felt like she was starting to lose her mind. It was all too much for her to handle. If _only it would all just stop… If only someone would just come and help her… If only…_

"Mio?"

Just then, as if the Maker answered her plea, she heard the soft voice of Mugi from some distance behind her. She did not look up. She was grateful for her friend's presence, she was grateful that her call was answered, but she felt too many things still. She felt like she was unstable. Something was surely wrong with her. She was filthy from all the foul elements.

Mugi saw her friend sitting on the sand with her knees pressed against her chest and felt something ache inside of her for the girl. She wasted no time and walked to her friend. She crouched down low and wrapped her arms around the shaking angel.

Ever since that night she worried about her friend. She knew that there was no way she would know what her friend could possibly be going through, but she vowed to always be there for the other angel, to help her get through this.

Somehow, Mio felt Mugi's vow of staying by her side and being there if she needed a friend through the other angel's hug. If Mio cried, she would have wept impossibly harder then. She would have lost her sanity the first night if Mugi had not been there to comfort her. She owed her friend a lot. She thanked the Maker for Mugi in her head. Mugi really was an angel. She was a guardian angel to her wards and also to her. Mio realized just then how selfless the other angel was and put her hands on her friend's shoulders and rested her head on the crook of the other angel's neck and hugged her back.

They stayed that way for a while quietly until Mio pulled back. Mugi's thick eyebrows rose and she watched her friend close with worry.

"Thank you, Mugi. Thank you so much…"

Mio smiled at her friend. She poured all of her thanks and gratitude and as much feeling as she could into that one smile. And it was as if Mugi felt it all when her eyes softened and she smiled back.

Mio opened her eyes to the present and was pulled back to reality as the music faded and the sun showed itself, completely over the horizon. Seagulls flew overhead and the lighthouses were powered down and angels blinked themselves out one by one.

The three friends turned to each other and greeted each other with a smile and a 'good morning' before Azusa hurriedly explained that she had to go immediately since she still had an unfinished round from last night. The younger angel had finished her daily three rounds early and thought that she had enough time to finish a fourth but was mistaken when she was surprised to see the dark skies shift to twilight.

The two candidates turned to each other.

"Mugi, I want to finish my first round early so I can observe Ritsu again today. I'll be going now too, okay?"

Mio tilted her head apologetically to the side, sad that she wouldn't get to stay and chat with the other angel as per their usual after-sunrise routine. After the shower incident, she had stopped blinking herself to the tawny-haired human for a week. But curiosity ate at her and she figured that her questions would remain unanswered if she didn't see the girl anymore.

Mugi nodded in understanding and smiled at her friend. Although she had no way of knowing, she had an idea of how hard what her friend is going through must be.

"Ah, I understand. She's last on my list today, seeing that she kept waking up later and later every day. Maybe we can see each other."

"See you, then!"

Mio raised her hand, palm facing towards her friend and fingers spread in a small wave. Mugi waved back and they both blinked themselves out of the beach.

There was no repeat of the shower incident then. The angel had made sure to be more careful now and much to her relief, she never caught the human in any state of undress again. There were weird instances where she found the human and her short brown-haired friend saying the oddest things, though. She caught them talking in deep voices about how sumo wrestling was an art and not a sport while they thrust each palm forward alternately. They then proceeded to repeat 'DOSUKOI' over and over again. Mio had no idea what the whole exchange meant.

* * *

Ritsu had woken up on the floor that day. Sometime around the night she had rolled over and fell and dragged her blankets and pillow down with her. It was no wonder the fall hadn't woken her since she and her band had a gig the night before and she had spent all of her energy hitting the worn out snare that barely made any noise. Yui and Ui invited her to come over to their place after the gig because there was so much leftover nabe that the younger sibling cooked and the older couldn't finish on her own so her partner in crime was needed. She had turned down the over, complaining about sore thighs, calves and forearms. She thanked the powers that be that Sawa-chan took pity on her and drove her home. She guessed that her manager was all pleasant last night because Norimi was there. Sawa-chan was tough but with Norimi around she acts like a teenager in love and the latter just soaks up all the affection.

The first time she met the woman with the pixie-cut hair, Ritsu immediately liked her. The woman was nice and fun and outgoing. She wasn't grumpy like Sawa-chan and was very easy to talk to. She was glad when Sawa-chan and Norimi finally got together because she knew they would be good for each other. She just hates it when they suddenly forget that they're not in their own house and have intense public displays of affection, especially when it's at her work place. It was her work place, goddammit!

She fixed her beddings with a long and bored face, eyes no more than slits on her face from the lack of proper sleep and back pain from sleeping on the floor in a weird position, and headed to the kitchen to see what she had at home that she can eat for breakfast. There was leftover rice, tamagoyaki and tsukemono. She scratched her back and ruffled her bedhead as she heated the rice and rolled omelet.

She then grabbed a bowl, scooped spoonfuls of rice into it and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. Although she was eating alone, she still said the customary _'itadaki-masu'_ before she dove into her breakfast.

For the past week something has been bothering Ritsu. It started on the previous Saturday when she went to the convenience store to purchase chocolates at around 11pm because she suddenly craved them. She had this fleeting feeling that someone had been watching her, that someone had been following her. She ignored it at first, but it had been getting more and more frequent lately and she was starting to get creeped out.

See, Ritsu isn't really the type to get scared so easily, and if something's got her jumpy then that something must be bad.

She felt it again that day when she got to the music store. She nodded a greeting to Sawa-chan when she caught the woman's gaze as the woman tended to some customers looking at violins. The woman nodded back. Norimi was also there and helped answer questions of the girl who seemed to actually want to buy one. It shocked Ritsu and caused her to spit her drink out when Sawa-chan told her that her girlfriend was quite knowledgeable on classical music. Norimi didn't look like it at all, especially with the six ear piercings and short pixie hair. _Ah, but then again Yui is something close to a guitar prodigy, so…_

Mio had just finished her first round and blinked herself to the tawny-haired human's work place. Ritsu stiffened as she felt someone watching her again. She turned around and scanned the store. There was no one else there who could be watching her. She tried to shrug it off and went to drop her bag behind the counter and pulled out her drumsticks. She was going to check out how the new kiddie-sized drum set she just set up yesterday sounded. She felt the invisible pair of eyes follow her and she tried her best to calm down.

She bent to adjust a few screws on the kit and to move the pedal a bit. She first tapped the cymbals with her forefinger since she didn't want to make any noise that could possibly irritate the customer. She felt them pass by her as the two older women and the customer went to the counter to settle the purchase.

"Well, it was nice meeting you today, Ichigo-san. You're welcome to come back any day if you have questions regarding the violin or playing. I would be happy to help."

Norimi smiled at the girl. Ichigo nodded enthusiastically, her brown bangs and pigtails with curled ends bouncing along with her action.

"Thank you, Norimi-san."

The girl, Ichigo, left the store, but not before she spared a glance at the direction of the headband-wearing girl who was crouched behind a set of drums and put a knuckle to her lip and blushed.

"Well, well, Ricchan… It seems that you have a secret admirer."

Sawako said in a singsong voice. She followed the customer with her gaze and caught her look at her drummer and blush. _Oh, to be young…_ She thought.

"Who?"

Ritsu looked up from the drums with her eyebrows high up her forehead. _Could it be that…?_

"Ichigo-san just looked at you and blushed before leaving the store~"

"Hmmm… You know, I've actually been freaked out for the past week. I feel like someone's watching me and it's really bothering me."

Ritsu went into deep thought and tried to remember if she's seen the girl she heard Norimi call Ichigo. She went over the events of the past week and came up with nothing. No, she's only seen the girl today.

"Well, I think whoever your secret admirer may be; it definitely isn't Ichigo-san. She seemed like she only saw you today. Someone else is stalking you."

Norimi leaned on her hands that were flat on the counter and put her two cents in the conversation. She finished the sentence with a look thrown at the supposedly invisible Mio in the room. Mio stiffened again and rubbed her eyes. This time she was sure the woman looked at her. She acted quick and blinked herself out of the store.

"How can you even know that?"

Ritsu raised a questioning brow and shook her head.

"Man, you two are getting senile in your old age, aren't you?"

The drummer went back to her work but before she could even put her foot to the bass drum pedal and hit the snare a shoe hit her head and she let out a surprised and pained squeak.

"Say that again."

Sawako growled as her raised fist shook and a vein throbbed. There was a visible and angry lump on the headband-sporting girl's head and there were tiny streams of tears that ran from her eyes down to her cheeks.

Ritsu arrived home late that evening from band practice. They had another gig scheduled for Friday night and a performance at a small music festival the next day. She sighed and inserted the key into the knob and twisted it to open the door. There was a click. She pushed the door open but before she could even enter her home she felt the presence of her stalker once again. Scared, tired, and freaked out, Ritsu just reacted.

She turned around. Mio jumped in surprise as the girl turned to face her. Shivers erupted in the angel's body as the human's eyes seemed to stare right into the dark starry skies of her own. It was like the human could _see_ her. She was frozen in her spot.

"_WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?_"

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**AN**: What do you guys think? Reviews motivate me and make me write faster! xD

**_~pineappurus_**


	4. To Dare

**AN**: I just lost 1,00 words in the next chapter. I feel like killing myself now. It was such an important part also. I was supposed to post this when the other one was finished so I could post that one right after. But then Microsoft Word decided to screw with me and I am very very unhappy right now. I will have to rewrite so much in the next chapter. I'm sorry if this update took a while. I needed to change so much in it. I'm also not sure when I'll post the next one now because I just feel like strangling someone.

**Chapter Word Count**: 3,577 word(s)  
**POV**: Third person still  
**Summary**: Mio goes through changes and unknowingly learns of another human trait. Meanwhile Ritsu meets her admirer Ichigo once again.

* * *

**To Dare**

* * *

Mio felt like her insides melt with the flames she saw in the human's eyes. There was raw emotion. A spark of admiration ignited in her for how unashamedly and openly the human displayed emotion. Like she was not embarrassed of the amount of fear she had that she just let it shine through her eyes, but at the same time her body tensed like it was ready to tackle whoever it was that was stalking her. She admired how the human was ready to act in spite of her fears; the fact that the human was willing to face them. _Was that what they called courage?_

"Who's there?"

Ritsu yelled, directed it at whoever had been following her the whole day, her voice showed no signs of terror despite of it being evident in her eyes. Mio would've clapped at commended her for how well she hid her fear had she not been paralyzed that moment.

"Show yourself!"

Ritsu then turned her head from side to side and scanned the hallway. Mio realized that the human still couldn't see her. But she knew the human could feel her. Somehow, Ritsu felt her presence and knew that she was there. The angel's terror passed but there were no words to explain the thrill that rushed through her when she realized the weight of the fact that _now_, the human could _feel _her.

Mio could affect the human now, just like how the human had affected her. There was an unexplainable excitement that welled in her chest.

Ritsu clenched her fists and her breaths came in short pants. The angel couldn't move. Mio once again was at a loss. Seconds passed, then minutes. After a while the human visibly relaxed and sighed.

Ritsu had chalked her weird feeling up to exhaustion and paranoia. She turned back to the doorway and went into the house and shut the door behind her. The girl leaned against the door, closed her eyes and massaged her temples, imagining the massive drumsticks of migraine beating at her skull. She tried to calm her breathing and steady emotions. _It's all just paranoia. It's just me being irrational._

Ritsu took a long hot shower and had a cup of warm milk to calm her and help her sleep well.

Meanwhile, the angel stood still outside, a million thoughts going through her head and a million emotions went registered in her brain and it spread to fill her up to the tips of her fingers. For a moment the human had looked into her eyes and she had looked back, even if the human didn't really see her. The experience of staring into sharp amber eyes was so unique that it sent a jolt through her and hit her at her core. It was like her soul was plucked out of her and doused with ice cold water. _Terrifying. Exhilarating. Nothing felt like it; nothing could ever compare._

Mio half-mindedly finished her round that night. Her body went through her duties as it had for millennia. For the first time, her mind was occupied by thoughts about the ordinary human girl who's extraordinary after all. What Mio didn't know was this was just the beginning of it all. This is just the starting point of the thread of firsts coming her way.

The angels gathered once again. The sun rose and the heavenly music played. Each guardian was caught in a trance, each guardian with arms outstretched like they were receiving the glory and warmth for the first time ever.

Mio, Mugi, and the junior Azusa stood side by side; two of them completely engulfed by the ritual, one was anchored by an inattentive mind and persistent thoughts. Mio's arms felt heavy and her eyes kept shifting, unable to stay still like a child's. She wiggled her toes in the sand and tried to see how deep she can push them in. She wasn't even aware that she was did all of this until a gentle hand laid upon her shoulder.

"Mio, is there something wrong?"

Mio turned to face her friend with huh written on her face, but when she saw the overwhelming amount of concern in the two pairs of sky orbs that looked back at her, she realized what she had done and the gravity of her actions hit her so hard that she had to look down in shame.

The sunrise, the harps, the horns, the trumpets, the warmth, the Maker… She didn't pay attention. She didn't listen. She wasn't caught in a trance like all the angels in the world would have been. What she did was a sign of disrespect; what she did would be seen as her rejecting the Maker's gift. She thought about all of the things her friends would think about her, would label her as. She thought of all the punishments the Maker would give her. She thought of being stripped of everything and everyone. A wave of emotions threatened to drown her once again. She opened her mouth to talk, to explain herself, to tell that that it's not how they think it is, to make up an excuse, to say anything that would help her argue her case if it ever came to her having to face the Maker. She came up with none.

"I… I… I…"

She repeated like a broken record. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Then she felt the hand on her shoulder squeeze and it pulled her back. She looked up at her friends' faces, into her friends' similar irises and what she saw there made her knees weak and her throat tighten; _unmasked and unconditional care and care for her wellbeing. _

Mugi and Azusa, with their angel's insight and intuition, relaxed and smiled softly at her when they saw that she finally realized that they weren't there to judge her. They were there to help Mio with whatever she was going through and be there for her no matter what happens. They've known each other for millennia and would not let the bond that was forged over thousands of years be of no worth by judging her and letting Mio go through this alone.

"Mio-senpai, is there something wrong?"

Compared to Mugi, Azusa knew absolutely nothing of what Mio has been going through for the past month. The only thing she knew about was the light barrier incident and nothing after it. There was no judgment in the junior's eyes and tone of voice. She knew her senpai, Mio and Mugi, took her under their wing for a few millennia after all and taught her so much. She would never abandon her senpai especially when her senpai needed her.

Mio appreciated the younger angel more than ever. She felt gratitude and pride over how far Azusa had come, from the uptight angel who would never spare a glance at those who she thought to have no respect for the angelic law to the angel with the soft worried eyes who stood in front of her now.

"Why don't we finish all the rounds for today and then meet up back here right after?"

Mio smiled and her two friends turned to each other and nodded. They said their goodbyes to each other and then blinked themselves out of the beach, eager to start the day and finish it all as fast as they could.

* * *

There was falling debris everywhere. Dust billowed and clouds of smoke rose to the sky and tainted it an ugly dark gray. A bomb was set off in a distance, the explosion sent shockwaves through the ground. There was chaos and madness and Commander Ritsu carried the injured woman with all of her might and ran to the nearest shelter.

She set the quivering lady safely against a boulder near the shore and quickly took out her walkie talkie.

"Captain Yui! Captain, can you hear me? We must evacuate Zipangu immediately! Gather the troops, those who are still able to should help a fallen comrade. Captain? Captain Yui?"

There was only static at the other end. _Oh no…_ _It can't be…_

Just then the woman she carried in her arms stirred and looked at her with an expression she couldn't understand. There was something in her eyes that Ritsu couldn't explain. Suddenly lady's arm reached out to touch her cheek. The woman opened her mouth to speak but instead of words her ringtone came out.

Ritsu's eyebrows shot up. _Huh, her ringtone?_

Ritsu's eyes opened and she groaned. The cellular phone on her bedside table rang loudly and annoyingly. She touched the screen to see what time it was and who it was that called and ruined her sleep. It was Sawa-chan. Her caller ID was 'Psycho Old Lady'.

She pressed the green button to pick the call up.

"What is it that you want, Sawa-chan? Can't you see how early it still is? I don't have to go to the store for another hour and a half!"

"_It's almost 10 am, get your ass out of bed before I go there and do it myself."_

Ritsu paled at that. She didn't label Sawako as a 'Psycho Old Lady' for no reason after all.

"Well, no need to be so hostile so early in the morning. Is there any explanation as to why you called? Do you need me at the store?"

"No, actually, I'm calling on behalf of Norimi. She needs an extra waiter to fill in for the after breakfast hours. I thought you could use the extra pay and that you should learn to wake up early."

Norimi owned and managed a small diner near the music store. The woman loved to cook and eat fried and greasy stuff for some reason she could never understand. In all fairness to Norimi, her fast food dishes taste really great.

Ritsu thought about it for a moment. She did need the money. Sure, she got by with what she earns from gigs and her job at the music store and the occasional music student but she barely had any savings. If there ever was an emergency where she would need instant and extra cash to pull out of her wallet, she would just have to curl up into a ball and wait for a kind heart that would lend her some. She knew that other than Sawako wanting to help her financially, the woman also didn't want her girlfriend to hire someone new, someone they didn't know, someone they would have to tiptoe around and someone they would have to train still. Ritsu was indeed the perfect one for this job. And all she had to do was take orders and serve food. How hard could that be?

"Okay, fine. I'll take the job. When can I start?"

"You officially start tomorrow, but Norimi needs you to drop by. Get ready and be here as soon as you can."

Ritsu grumbled an 'okay' and hung up. She really liked Norimi, and despite her looks, with the piercings and tattoo and pixie hair, she's actually very nice. Norimi was the opposite of Sawa-chan who looked innocent with her glasses and round eyes, but can scare the living crap out of a six foot tall grown man. She can't remember the name of the guy, though. She wondered where that guy went. He never showed himself after that nasty incident.

Ritsu took a quick shower, dressed quickly, and opted for toast instead of her usual beloved rice for breakfast. She put on a shirt with a faded print of "The Who" on it, the band of her favorite drummer. She popped her earphones on and plugged it into her phone and listened to songs from various genres of music as she walked to Norimi's diner.

She reached the establishment in no time and pushed the glass door open. Norimi was at the counter and she was talking to a girl who wore her wavy brown locks in pigtails. Ritsu put her hands in her pockets and walked to them.

"Oh, Ricchan! Good morning. I'm sorry to call you on such short notice. I hope Sawako didn't harass you too much over this."

Norimi laughed nervously and bowed her head slightly to apologize for her girlfriend's rudeness. The woman leaned to her left and looked over the other girl's shoulder. The girl turned her head to see who the newcomer was. Ritsu spared a glance at her and thought the girl looked familiar. The girl blushed and ducked her head.

"Ah, no need to apologize for the old woman, Nori-chan. I'm used to how she is. She was my teacher in high school after all."

Ritsu smiled at Norimi. The woman smiled back at her, knowing that all the jibes at her girlfriend were an evidence of the years that they've known each other. _Or it may also be evidence of the attitude of the two… _Norimi sweatdropped at the thought. _It is Ritsu and Sawako afterall._ The woman saw Ritsu eyeing the other girl at the counter, Ichigo, and Ichigo just blushed, stole quick glances at the tawny haired drummer and looked down at her folded hands. Norimi almost shook her head. Ritsu kept staring at the other girl not realizing that the other girl probably has a crush on her. Norimi mentally sighed. _Sometimes she wondered who was denser, Yui or Ritsu. Sometimes it leaned too close to the latter._

The awkward silence was interrupted by one of Norimi's cooks who rang the bell and signaled that Ichigo's order was done.

"Ah, Ichigo-san, here's you order."

Norimi moved to grab the tray containing a medium sized burger and a tall glass of milkshake.

"Why don't we move to that table and have our talk over there, hm?"

Norimi pointed to one table that was closest to the counter and looked at Ichigo for confirmation. The girl nodded and the woman untied the apron behind her and pulled it over her head. She moved around the counter and carried Ichigo's tray for her. Ichigo whispered a shy thanks to the older woman and sat across her. Ritsu stood dumbly in front of the counter, not knowing if she should follow or just sit somewhere else. Norimi forgot to tell her what to do.

Norimi realized her error and called out the drummer.

"Oh! Forgive me for being rude. Why don't you join us, Ricchan?"

Ritsu was hesitant. She looked from the older woman to the girl whose name she could still not remember.

"I'm sure Ichigo-san wouldn't mind, right Ichigo-san?"

Norimi looked to the brown haired girl for an answer she already knew. Ichigo nodded timidly. The woman introduced the two girls to each other. Ritsu raised a palm and said _'yo'_ while Ichigo just bowed and greeted her with a smile and a simple _'nice to meet you'_. Ritsu sat with them and tried to join into the conversation as much as she could, but the two talked about classical music, orchestras, and specifics about violin playing and violin-related things.

Ritsu looked at Norimi in wonder and amazement. _Wow, Nori-chan sure knows a lot about classical music. Who's this—Shopen? Chopin? — guy that they keep talking about?_ Then Ritsu recalled where she first saw the girl. It was at the shop, just a few days ago, she was the one who bought a violin. She was the girl Norimi said who had a crush on her. Ritsu blushed. The two continued to converse, unaware of the drummer's musings. _Could she be the person who's been following me around lately? She looks cute, though… Like a princess. Wait, what the hell am I thinking?_

"Ricchan? Is there something wrong?"

Norimi inquired. The woman noticed that the drummer's face suddenly shifted from emotion to emotion. Ritsu also looked uncomfortable and Norimi thought it must be due to Ichigo having a crush on the drummer. _She finally remembered who Ichigo is, huh?_ The woman's eyes shifted to Ichigo who fiddled with her thumbs and still had her head bowed slightly. The girl looked really shy.

"Huh? What? Oh nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about, er— something."

Ritsu was startled at first when the woman asked her a question out of the blue. She turned towards Ichigo who suddenly stood from her seat.

"Well, it's been a pleasure talking with you, Norimi-san, but I must go now. Maybe I can come by again for more lessons?"

Ichigo bowed politely. The girl gave Norimi a small smile and looked at Ritsu's direction and blushed. Norimi thought the girl was so obvious. Ritsu caught the blush and almost fell out of her chair. The drummer began to sweat. Ichigo turned to Ritsu.

"I-it was nice to meet you, R-ritsu-san."

Ichigo bowed robotically then waved for the last time and left the small diner. Norimi turned to Ritsu and quirked an eyebrow.

"So, you finally remembered who she is, huh?"

Norimi smirked. _Really, I think all that drumming can kill brain cells. Or is it just Ricchan? _Ritsu blushed at Norimi's remark and proceeded to explain how she was never really good at remembering people's faces; that was Yui's thing. The two women then talked about Ritsu's job details, how much she would be earning per hour and the minimum number of hours she had to work. When everything important was settled, they went onto lighter topics, made small talk and joked around. The time for Ritsu to leave for the music store came all too soon and she had to bid the older woman goodbye and a 'see you later'.

* * *

Mio returned to the beach right after her third round. She skipped on observing her favorite human today. She knew that if she paid the girl a visit again she would just get distracted and end up spending too much time watching her, especially now that the girl could feel her, Mio didn't trust herself even more. _I might even try to get a reaction out of her again. _Mio thought. Then she realized that she couldn't see anything wrong with that. What was wrong about surprising the human a little? Maybe even teasing her a little? Mio felt uncharacteristically daring. _I would definitely try to get a reaction from her. Tomorrow. Definitely._

When she got to the beach Azusa was already there waiting for her. Just as Azusa greeted her like the young angel always did, Mugi blinked herself beside them. For some reason unknown to her, Mio felt like sitting on the sand. See, angels never tire and never feel physical exhaustion and so they never needed to sit or sleep. Mio sat cross-legged on the sand for no reason other than just because she wanted to. The two angels looked questioningly at her first, then looked at each other unsure, and then gave in and sat with her, forming a tight triangle as their knees touched. Mio smiled at this.

And so, the angel proceeded to tell her two friends every single thing that happened for the pass month, not missing a single detail. From the incident where she saved the human to last night's encounter where she thought the human _saw_ her. She recounted it all, even shared all the emotions she felt. She told them about how terror felt, how excitement felt, how disappointment and anger and delight and anticipation would weigh her chest down. Azusa's eyes widened in both surprise and amazement and Mugi looked so immersed in her story that her friend's thick brows were drawn together in concentration.

She confessed that she might be getting _attached_ to this human in a way that an angel was absolutely _not_ supposed to. Then again, she's felt and done things that angels were absolutely not supposed to either. The colors of their irises shifted along with the sky. She couldn't stop talking, so she didn't. Her friends never interrupted her once. They just listened quietly. For this Mio was thankful. A huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. The heaviness in her chest disappeared.

Azusa told her that she would be there if her senpai needed anything. Mugi nodded and assured her that things would be fine and that whatever she was going through, she wasn't going through it alone. Mio pulled both of them in a tight hug. They all laughed and moved on to sharing stories about their wards and the humans' oddities.

* * *

_From somewhere only a few beings knew of, including Him, the Maker smiled at the sight. How many millennia has it been since his angels just sat together and just talked? When he made the angels, he hadn't intended for them to be too closed off and too serious. Sure, that was good considering how important their duties are, but it seemed over the millennia that he made them a little too close to perfect that they sometimes forgot that they could still feel, even only a bit and they still had their fellow immortal companions with them. All the angels became too independent and they all rarely interacted which saddened Him. Now, seeing these three, He couldn't help but smile._

_It doesn't change that he wasn't pleased with what was going on with one of them, though. He thought for a few seconds and decided that His angel Mio needed a catalyst, and he would gladly alter things a little to bring her that._

**_To be continued..._ **

* * *

**AN**: I would appreciate it if you point out any errors you see. :) Thank you for taking the time to read and forgive me for not updating sooner! Let's hope MS Word doesn't decide to ruin my life again. I promise you'll find out more about angels and the Maker and what He really thinks of this whole thing in future updates.

**AN2: **OKay, I recovered the little f***er after pulling out locks of my hair. Nah, just kidding. There was no hair loss. WHOOP. *victory dance*

**~pineappurus**


	5. To Love

**AN**: Divided what was supposed to happen in this one again into two chapters xD But don't worry, don't worry.. No more waiting for the next. :P Made sure it was done before I posted this. I'll just polish that and before I post it too, mkay? Love you guys, really. You're the best! Forgive me for the long AN. Thanks for the reviews~

**Alex**, hon, you really have no idea how much you help me. I appreciate every single review. I know I'm not the best writer, but I hope you never get tired of my works and keep reading them. I await your review after each chapter or oneshot, actually. I don't believe it's really posted until you review it xD I also understand your stand on the whole 'tux' thing in my last oneshot and believe it or not, I am right there with you. Firsthand experience of bullying brought me to write it like that, though. Trust me, I would've written it another want but for some reason, I couldn't. Thank you for still finishing it, though. :)

**Devon**, you clever perv :P Thank you for reading it all and taking the time to critique my stories. I enjoy talking to you so much! I can't wait to start on our collab :P I'm sure it would be fun xD Also, I'm eagerly awaiting for your compilation of the best YuiAzu stories. xD

**Hephaestus**, man, you praise me too much that my head's probably grown an inch or two bigger xD I love your choice of username, btw. He's my favorite greek god :D Huzzah for being both seventeen, struggling with college, and coming from the same country! Hats off to you.

**To every one else** who's stuck with this story, thank you all soo much. I know it sounds like the story has ended and I'm saying goodbye, but it hasn't yet, don't worry xD Many more things to come! I'm just very grateful. :) Bear with me and stick with me til the end, okay?

**Chapter Word Count**: 3,414 word(s)  
**POV**: Third person of course~  
**Summary**: Mio discovers what all of it meant. Ritsu goes through pressure, stress, and something else. Ichigo plays a major role.

* * *

**To Love**

* * *

Ritsu was exhausted. Her usual sleeping time was cut back due to her work at Norimi's diner. The date for their next gig and performance came closer and closer so they've extended practice time. She would get random spasms in her arms and calves that made her wince in pain. She seriously had to get used to this. Other than that, her stalker seemed to be going at it again. She felt watched especially when she was at the music store and when she spent time with Ichigo. She got so jittery that she called her brother to help her get the stalker to stop. Her brother was no help of course.

"Oh? Nee-chan, what's up? What's with the random call?

"Satoshi, your sister needs help!"

She sobbed into the phone. Her brother knew it was faked, though.

"With what?"

"Somebody's stalking me!"

"Huh? Stalking you? Like, following you around and stuff?"

"Mhmm, mhmm! It's creeping me out! Help me! I can't take it anymore! Just scare the person away or something!"

Ritsu whined. Little rivers of tears ran from her eyes. Her brother sighed.

"Nee-chan, I can't go there right now. Exams are coming and I have to study. I'll love to beat up whoever's messing with you but you know how strict it is here. Other than that, the trainings gotten tougher recently and I can't afford to be left behind. If this goes on longer, though, I swear I'll run there if I have to. Right now, though I can't. Why don't you talk to your friends there? Maybe you can sleep over Yui-san's or your sensei's place."

Ritsu just sighed. She understood. Her baby brother was in a military training camp. Satoshi decided that he wanted to serve the country as a Japanese soldier. Of course, she just couldn't ask him to go to Tokyo whenever she wanted.

"I understand. Okay. I'll still be waiting for you to visit, kay? See you soon, little bro."

They hung up and Ritsu rested her face on her palms. She still felt like someone was watching her, even at that moment. Well, that's because someone was.

Mio thought she should feel sorry for the human girl but she didn't. She actually found all this amusing. She wanted to keep experiencing the thrill of being able to bother the human in some way. She was fascinated by how affected the human was with the benefit of the human not seeing her and not being able to do anything about it. But mostly, she was just fascinated that the human was bothered because of her; that she could cause the human to feel this way.

Sometimes she would reach out and try to touch the human, see if she would respond. And Ritsu did, every single time. The human would jerk back or would turn her head and her amber eyes would meet the invisible Mio's sky orbs again and the angel would feel that tingly, fluttering sensation once more. As each day passed, Mio grew more and more daring in her attempts to get reactions from Ritsu.

Ritsu met Ichigo more often after their official introduction. The brown haired girl came to the diner coincidentally whenever she was working. The girl would order the same thing, a medium burger and a milkshake every time and would occasionally add fries and Ritsu would serve the food at the girl's table and greet her with a grin and her usual 'yo'. After the first few awkward meetings, Ritsu decided to try and talk to the girl. It was probably their third or fourth meeting, she couldn't really remember, when Ritsu somehow mentioned her hometown. It turned out that Ichigo also grew up in the same place and they started sharing little anecdotes of their childhood spent in the same places. Ritsu wondered how they had managed to avoid each other and never meet until now when they went to the same hangouts, the same restaurants and the same parks. After finishing up her meal, Ritsu's shift would end minutes later and they walk to the music store together; Ritsu's regular job and Ichigo's daily violin lessons from Norimi. Sometimes the pxie-haired woman would join them, and sometimes they would just have their lessons at the diner, in the back room when it's not too chaotic.

Ritsu liked Ichigo. Well, as a friend, as someone to talk to, someone to walk to the music store with, and someone to tease. But romantically? Hmmm… She wasn't sure about that yet. After all, it was still too soon. Sure, Ichigo was definitely attractive; very cute, but for some reason Ritsu couldn't place her finger on, she knew that Ichigo wasn't… right for her. Ritsu knew that was the most cliché and stupidest thing she's ever said. She wanted to scratch at her back for how itchy and uncomfortable it made her feel saying that. Maybe she should give it some time? Maybe she should let herself ease into this thing then decide later? She really didn't know but she knew she would have to find out soon. She just didn't want to hurt the girl. She knew of the girl's feelings for her and didn't want to lead the girl on.

Ritsu sighed. She was putting too much thought into this and that really wasn't like her at all. She'll just have to wait and see how things will unfold. This didn't keep Ritsu from feeling pressure and stress whenever the girl would show up, though. Ritsu knew that the girl was probably expecting things to turn romantic soon.

As she spent more time with Ichigo, she also felt the presence of her stalker even more.

Mio raised a brow and wondered who the new human was, the next time she went to observe Ritsu. It was the day after she had told her friends about all that troubled her and all she has been through. And instead of observing Ritsu, she ended up observing the other girl and noticed immediately that the other girl always blushed and giggled and stole glances at Ritsu. Mio felt like there was steam coming out of her ears and she scrunched up her face. The other girl, Ichigo, she heard Ritsu call her, obviously had feelings for Ritsu. Mio decided then and there that she would double her visits until she finds out more on this new human. Mio also wanted to prove to herself that she can make Ritsu feel more than that human ever could. She would try harder to get reactions from Ritsu, until the human could feel and think about nothing and no one else but her. Ritsu was hers.

Mio unknowingly learned about a new human emotion that day; jealousy. She blinked herself back to where she stopped on her rounds.

Two days went by and Mio saw a pattern in the time of Ritsu's and that girl's meet ups; somewhere between mid-morning and noon. Mio tucked that very valuable information safely in her memory. She would time her visits during their meetings and she would make sure to do her very best to ruin them.

She poked Ritsu's nose while the tawny-haired human talked to the other girl. Ritsu just sneezed. She blew into Ritsu's ear and pinched the side of her neck. Ritsu swatted at her ear and neck with two hands and thought that it was just a mosquito or some other insect. She tried plucking an eyebrow hair. Ritsu just scratched her brow. She tried taking Ritsu's headband off but only managed to nudge it a bit and loosen Ritsu's bangs. Ritsu took off her headband and re-placed it on her head. Mio watched Ritsu's bangs fall to her forehead in slow motion. Mio would have dropped dead if angels were capable of dying and muttered prayers under her breath asking the Maker to give her more moments where Ritsu wore her bangs down. Ichigo had a similar reaction to seeing Ritsu without bangs for the first time, and when Mio realized this, she glared daggers at the girl.

Mio dropped on all fours when Ritsu mentioned her hometown and it turned out to be the other girl's hometown also. Mio pouted the whole time the two talked and finally decided that she couldn't take any more of it and blinked herself away.

Mio felt something break when she caught the other girl asking Ritsu if Ritsu would go out with her on a date. Mio learned that day that the jealousy she felt the first time she saw Ritsu with this girl wasn't anywhere near real jealousy. What she felt now was the real thing though. Heavy jealousy that shot her to the ground and then pain pinned her there and kept her from getting up.

It's been a week since Ritsu started working in Norimi's diner. The situation with her stalker only got worse and worse as the days passed and she can't even sleep well at night anymore. That and thoughts about Ichigo bothered her. She had met up with the girl earlier and was surprised when the girl had shyly asked her out on a date. She said yes and now she regretted it. She didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings but it seems like she would be hurting her even more now. She hit her forehead on her desk, groaned from the pain, and muttered 'stupid' under her breath.

* * *

The evening of the date came. Ritsu wore something casual but presentable. They were going to a restaurant that was not too fancy but also not cheap and served good food. They had agreed to just meet each other there at their reserved booth. Ritsu decided that she wouldn't let Ichigo wait for her alone so she prepared early and left her home early. Technically, she really didn't have to bring much money with her because Ichigo was the one to ask her out, therefore she should pay, but Ritsu doesn't think she could do that to the girl, especially since she wasn't looking for anything serious, heck she wasn't even looking for anything more than friendship.

Ritsu arrived at the restaurant and quickly sat in their reserved table, but instead of her date being there, an invisible angel stood and studied her with a jealous frown. Ichigo wasn't there yet and she decided to just wait and maybe have a glass of wine or two. The angel leaned forward and Ritsu stiffened slightly, as she felt the air around her become electric. Ritsu's eyes widened, not believing that her stalker followed her even to her date. The human's breathing quickened slightly and the angel took notice of this and smiled triumphantly. Hah. Take that Ichigo. Let's see you make Ritsu react like that with just your presence. Mio stood closer to Ritsu and waited with her for the girl with the curly pigtails.

Ritsu ordered a glass of wine and took a sip. She caught sight of brown hair and saw Ichigo enter the restaurant. Ritsu almost choked on air. The girl had made an effort to look pretty tonight, not that she wasn't pretty enough as it is. The girl really was attractive and now she was just breathtaking. Mio also saw this and felt the fat and ugly feeling the angel has come to know well for the past week, squash her again. The angel saw Ritsu down her drink in one gulp and wipe perspiration on her forehead and the back of her neck. The angel felt herself break even more. No. She turned to see Ichigo smile at Ritsu and greet her.

Mio couldn't believe all that she saw. Everything that happened during the date seemed to happen all just to break and smash the confidence she had. The way the two humans talked, the way they laughed, the way Ritsu teased Ichigo, the way Ichigo looked at Ritsu, all of it seemed to be there to rub the fact that 'Ritsu was not hers' in her face. She couldn't even do anything. She couldn't even try to pester the tawny-haired girl. She just stood there, invisible, and watched Ritsu and Ichigo be perfectly happy in their little world where she did not exist, where she never did and never would. She felt as though she was nothing.

Mio followed them as they exited the restaurant and went to Ichigo's car. The angel sat invisibly at the back and felt different emotions curl inside of her as the two humans settled into a comfortable silence. They reached Ritsu's apartment and Ritsu moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"Well, Ichigo, that was fun. I guess I should-mmf—"

Ritsu made the mistake of looking up. When Ichigo saw Ritsu's head turn to face her, the girl felt a sudden bolt of dauntlessness rip right through her and she wasted no time and placed her lips on Ritsu's. Ritsu's eyes widened and she froze. Mio was engulfed by her emotions and the angel felt like she was drowning.

The angel felt her whole world crash and she blinked herself away. There was nothing more for her here. The angel thought should never have followed this human, thought that she should've left it at that night where she saved the human and never acted on her curiosity, never let these treacherous feelings cloud her judgment and eat at her being when everything fails. She should've been above this all. She should've let her logic overrule and take over her instead. Then she wouldn't have done stupid things and become stupid herself. She was an angel for crying out loud. If only she had listened to her rational side then she would never have been a shame and embarrassment to her kind. She blinked herself to the beach and decided that this would be the last of this foolishness.

Ritsu's lips were clamped shut and her body was stuck. Ichigo kept her lips firmly planted on Ritsu's and with her seatbelt already unbuckled, she moved to push Ritsu against the car door. Ritsu felt the movement and suddenly became aware. Ritsu's mind went from completely blank to working overdrive; but it was only when she felt Ichigo's tongue probing her lips for entrance that she pushed the other girl back.

Ichigo looked like she had just realized what she did and what the pressure on her shoulders and the wide-eyed look on Ritsu's face meant. The girl sat up straight in her seat, gasped and covered her mouth with a hand. Ichigo's face burned beet red from embarrassment and rejection.

"Ri-ri-ritssu…"

Ritsu couldn't say anything. Her instincts pushed her to comfort the other girl and tell her that it was alright. For some reason, her body wouldn't listen, and it instead moved on its own. Before Ichigo could say more, Ritsu unbuckled her seatbelt and unlocked the door on the passenger side and got off of the car. She closed the car door gently behind her and pushed until she heard a click. She walked to her apartment building and walked up the stairs to her apartment without a single glace back.

* * *

Mio stared up at the dark and starry skies. The angel was once again at the beach. There was no other place where she found peace in, no other place that calmed her and no other place that allowed her to clear up her thoughts and relax. She sat on the cool sand and counted the stars.

She thought about what happened and what she just saw. She thought about how she should've seen it coming, should've known it was bound to happen sooner or later, should've known that a first date was the perfect time for a first kiss. She thought how about how stupid she was. She thought of how ironic that she possessed eyes that mirrored the sky that blanketed the earth, the sky that witnessed the lives of billions of people happen, the sky that knew everyone's secrets, the sky that watched and waited and knew, and she had been blind to it all.

She didn't know why she felt so much pain; so much more than all that she has felt since she met and saved the human. Ritsu absolutely had no relation or connection to her. The human was her friend's ward and not hers, so if there was any angel to feel a connection to the human, it should be Mugi. _Why her? Of all angels why her? She was finally given the opportunity to advance into the third sphere, so why did it have to be her? She was one of the most dedicated angels, so why? _She couldn't understand it at all. _Was the Maker behind all of this? He's behind everything isn't he? Why did the Maker choose her?_

And then she thought, _why Ritsu? As Mugi said, there was nothing special about her, so why?_

But then she knew the answer to that. Maybe somehow, at their first meeting, she knew subconsciously that Ritsu would be able to feel her so she came to the human's aid. Angels really do have very sharp perception and intuition, even if hers failed her too many times recently. Ritsu made her feel _different._ Heck, Ritsu made her _feel._ _How many angels had experienced that?_

And then her eyes widened. _Does this mean that I was happy being around Ritsu? Does this mean that I enjoyed feeling and wanted to feel more? Why did I suddenly think of myself as special just because I felt? Haven't I always been special just because I was an angel? Am I not special because I never tire, never starve and never thirst? Am I not special because I am one of the few who can hear music at sun rise?_

No. She never felt special because of all that. Now that she thought about it, she never felt special, not even once in all of her millennia. She felt lucky, yes, but it was nowhere near special. It was nowhere near how she felt now. _Nowhere near how Ristu made her feel._

_And what does Ritsu make me feel?_

A million thoughts went through her head. She enumerated each emotion, each feeling she became familiar with for the past weeks. _Anger, fear, frustration, desperation, curiosity, excitement, disappointment, hurt, impulsiveness, sadness, pain, amazement, surprise, confusion, and… happiness? Yes, happiness. Definitely happiness. So much happiness that her lifetime of millennia cannot compare._

Nothing was more fun than observing the human, no matter how uneventful some of her visits were. Nothing has ever made her smile before Ritsu. The human was a living, breathing comedic act. Ritsu and her other friend, the brown-haired airhead— was it Yui? — have made her wish that she was capable of doubling over in laughter for more times than she could count. And nothing compared to trying to make Ritsu feel her.

_But Ritsu wasn't hers. Ritsu can't be hers._

She shifted her eyes to look at the waves. _So she wanted the human all to herself, huh? What, was she in love with the human now?_

Love.

"It can't be."

She whispered to the night air. Her eyes were as wide as they could be. Her chest felt like it would cave in on itself. She fell on her back. She couldn't hold herself up anymore. She folded her legs and hugged her knees tight to her chest then turned to her side. There was nothing for a long time. It could've been minutes; it could've been an hour. She wasn't aware. Her whole body shut down along with her mind.

She had just realized how much the human meant to her. She had just realized what all of the emotions meant.

In the shortest span of time possible, she fell in love. She, an angel who is not even supposed to feel such complicated human emotions, fell in love, and with a human of all beings out there.

Mio, the third sphere candidate who's lived for millennia and witnessed humans evolve and change, was in love with Ritsu, a 23 year old drummer who can't even eat proper food and pay the rent on time if she didn't work two jobs.

She closed and opened her eyes. It was already twilight. She stood up from her fetal position on the sand and dusted herself of. She scanned the beach. She saw that she was still alone.

_What now?_

**_To be continued..._**


	6. To Breathe

**Chapter Word Count: **2,867 word(s)  
**POV**: Third but Mio-centric  
**Summary**: What Mio decides to do. Azusa and Mugi support her.

* * *

**To Breathe**

* * *

Azusa was the first angel to arrive for the tradition at sunrise. The young angel waved at her senior and approached her. The moment she saw her senpai, she immediately knew something was off about her. The other angel wore an aura around her and Azusa couldn't figure out what it was. There were too many emotions to really pin point what troubled her senpai. _Something happened_, she thought, _and it probably had something to do with Mugi-senpai's ward. _She came closer to her senior and the older angel greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning, Azusa."

"Good morning, Mio-senpai."

They both stood there in silence, Mio who chose not to say anything and Azusa who did not know what to say. Angels trickled in and their number grew. The two angels scanned the beach for Mugi, for their other friend who was still nowhere to be found. Just then they heard a voice.

"Mio! Azusa!"

Then there she appeared, just a few steps away from them, with that gentle smile and small wave of hers that always comforted Mio and made Azusa feel at ease. The three exchanged polite greetings of 'good morning' and the sun peeked from over the horizon and the orchestral music played. They stretched out their arms and turned their heads to the sun, their eyes glowing with a speck of gold among the blanket of beautiful blue.

And as the sun showed itself fully and the music came to fade, Mio turned to her two friends.

"I have something I must tell you two. It's something I just realized last night, and in all honesty I feel even more lost than I already was."

Mugi and Azusa shared a worried look and nodded at the same time. Whatever Mio had to tell them must be really huge, and they couldn't imagine anything bigger than what their friend already went through. Even if they had an inkling of what their friend might tell them, they still feared the stretch of possibilities that seemed almost endless.

"Of course, Mio."

"We're here whenever you need us, Mio-senpai."

Mio smiled thank fully. The troubled angel already knew of this but was still glad to hear it. She told them of the recent developments and her recent discovery as fast as she could so she wouldn't keep her friends from their duties for too long. Mio stammered and stuttered all through it despite her efforts to make it quick and short. _Well, really… Do you expect an angel to just easily admit to falling in love with a human?_

To Mio's surprise her friends just nodded. They didn't wear the shocked faces she expected.

Mugi and Azusa were in fact relieved. This was what they had foreseen.

"You're not surprised?"

Mugi smiled at her and Azusa's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Mio, we knew it might come to this."

Mugi's eyes then sparkled as she thought of her friend and her ward together. _Oh, what a beautiful sight. _She clasped her hands to her heart and looked to the sky. Azusa sent her Mugi-senpai a weird look; Mio quirked an eyebrow at the angel who suddenly went into a trance.

"_Mio and Ricchan~"_

Mugi whispered dazedly and giggled. Azusa stared at her senior and thought, _Mugi-senpai seems to be enjoying this a little too much. _She decided to say something before her senior became even weirder.

"Mio-senpai, we're angels, remember? Of course we knew!"

Mio wanted to smack her face. _Of course. Angels had unbelievably sharp intuition and insight. _Mio clasped her hands and twiddled her thumbs embarrassedly. Just more than a month with a human and she was already forgetting about the world of angels.

"Ah! It's alright, Mio, don't worry."

Mugi held both of Mio's hands in her own and Azusa then put her hands above both of her seniors'. Mio looked up and opened her mouth to ask a question.

"So…"

Mio looked to the side.

"What should I do?"

The smile fell from both her friends' faces. Mio wanted to tease them, '_so, you haven't thought that far, huh?', _but knew that wouldn't help with their situation at all so she remained silent. Her friends had no answer for her and now both just had their heads bowed down and looked at their feet. Mugi and Azusa really were ashamed to not have thought that far. Mio felt sadness wash over her. _There is nothing to do, huh? I'll keep loving the human and never be with her. _Mio hung her head and closed her eyes dejectedly. _To spend an eternity without the comfort of sleep, thinking about Ritsu and going through my duties mindlessly…_ Mio shuddered at the thought. The benefit of not feeling exhaustion suddenly was a curse to her. Her whole existence was suddenly a curse.

Azusa looked at her senior and bit her lip, unsure if she should say what she had in mind or not. She did anyway. She felt something inside of her push her to. _This is for Mio-senpai. This is for her happiness. Now is not the time to be selfish, Azusa. _She told herself._ I have to help her in any way that I can, even if it is a long shot. _She looked back down at her feet and the sand.

"Mio-senpai… Do you…"

Mio looked up at her junior who struggled with words. Azusa looked up and caught her senior's gaze. _Mio-senpai has already gone through so much… I have to._

"Do you really want to be with this human?"

Mio's gaze lowered, the weight of the question forcing it to. Yes. She wanted to scream the word to the whole world, she wanted to scream it at the Maker and all the other angels who wouldn't understand and would condemn her.

"Yes. I don't think I've ever wanted anything in all of my millennia. And to be with her… _I want it with all that I am._"

Azusa almost took a step back. Mugi's eyes widened. What Mio said was laced with so much emotion, so much want and longing and affection. They've heard of Mio's stories, the things the angel did and felt because of the human girl, and this should not be new to them, but somehow this time even they could feel it too. They felt a fraction of what Mio felt and understood her even more, understood her need to be with this human even more. Azusa continued.

"Well…"

The younger angel thought over what she was about to say. _This was it_. The younger angel was sure that saying this would be one of the best decisions she's ever made and will ever make. Or at least hoped against all the odds that it would be.

"I know a way to make you _human_."

* * *

The three angels stood at the top of a building that was currently being renovated. Different kinds of metal and wood stuck out of the sides and there were hollow blocks of concrete around them. Their eyes were all dark with tiny speck of white light. It was midnight. After their talk at the beach and after Azusa's revelation, they all decided to let Mio think about it for the whole day and go on with their rounds first. They would then decide after their three rounds and would do what needed to be done in order for Mio to become human.

Mio did not need to think about it though. The angel knew that deep within her she wanted this, she wanted this chance to be with Ritsu because she wouldn't be able to bear seeing her with another and live on for millennia knowing she just let go of the only thing, only being that could bring her happiness. She was scared, yes. _Terrified_, actually, of what they were about to do. Her knees shook and her hands trembled. It felt like her whole body pulsated from nervousness and she thought she might even throw up.

Azusa and Mugi fared no better than her. Her two angel friends kept looking unsurely at each other and kept asking her if she was sure even if they knew the answer. Mio said yes every time.

"Okay."

Azusa spoke and shook her head to snap herself out of her train of thought. The young angel was worried about her senior of course, since this wasn't really something that was proven. This was only something she saw once and it was by accident, after all.

"Mio-senpai, Mugi-senpai, you're both probably wondering how I know of this."

Azusa's gaze shifted from one senior to the other. Her two seniors nodded.

"Well, it was a few years ago... I just finished my three rounds and decided to take a little walk. I saw this tall building and thought that maybe the view would look beautiful up on the rooftop, so I blinked myself up here... I saw another angel. I immediately noticed how beautiful she was and how her robes were different… I realized that she was a third sphere and that she wasn't just any ordinary third sphere; she was one of the angels in the Circle."

Mio and Mugi's eyes nodded. Of course they knew of those in the circle. The Maker had many angels, true, but there were very few— one could probably count them all with their fingers— that were included in the Maker's Circle. The Circle was made up of the best angels there were. They weren't only guardians, they were also warriors and they've been around even before the Maker made the earth. They have battled armies of other celestial beings, who thought of themselves to be above and greater than the Maker and wanted to overthrow Him for hundreds of millennia. The battles were between an army of angels around more or less ten and battalions and battalions of the other beings' creations. The angels always won.

The angels of the Circle were also the only angels to have ever seen what the Maker looks like.

"Well, the angel was there and stood on the ledge. She sensed my presence and turned to look at me. She only stared and then all of a sudden she _fell off_ the building. She _didn't jump_. She just _let herself fall_ off and waited to hit the ground. I was _mortified_. I was frozen for a few seconds and then I blinked myself below to save her. I was too late... She was already down there and unconscious. I thought she was dead and then told myself that that was impossible. Then I saw that there was a little blood on the side of her face. I stayed by her side… And after a few seconds I saw her chest move and her eyes flew open. She coughed blood out on her hands and her chest proceeded to heave breaths out. I only then realized that she was _breathing_ and _bleeding_. I was amazed. Then she slowly and gingerly sat up and winced. She probably felt my presence because she smiled towards where I am but her eyes wandered and I found out that she couldn't see me."

Mugi and Mio listened to their junior talk attentively. Their eyes widened and they nodded. _The angel bled and breathed after and couldn't see Azusa. Amazing. _They thought. _So she had turned human._ Azusa went on with her recollection.

"I stayed with her until sunrise… She wandered around and I followed her... I still remember her groans of pain. But then I had to go because the skies started to be filled with light from the rising sun... And I left her. I never saw her again. I don't know where she went. I don't even know if she's still alive."

The two seniors looked at each other. Mugi saw how determined _Mio still was and feared greatly for her friend. What if she doesn't survive? What happens then? Do I just watch Mio… die?_

Mio turned to the junior and asked what she thought was both on her and Mugi's minds.

"So I just _jump_ from here?"

Azusa went deep into thought for a moment.

"No. I don't think so, senpais. I think it's not what that angel did but what her actions meant. I think… I think that her jumping, _no, letting herself fall off _the edge was like her opening herself up to physical pain. She made herself _heavy_ and _let herself_ hit the ground. She _chose_ to be _vulnerable_; and being _human_ means being _vulnerable_. She _let go_ of her _immortality_ by letting herself fall off a high place. She opened herself up to _mortality_. That was a _physical manifestation_ of her choosing to live as a human… But I'm not really sure if this would work on you, Mio-senpai. That angel was a third sphere and belonged to the circle."

Mio nodded and understood what her junior meant. She knew her friends only wanted to be sure she would be safe after it all. But that was the thing, though. _There was no way to be sure_. She wanted this still; that, she was sure of. Her mind was made and she was not backing out. She _can't_ lose this human. She told herself that she _won't_. But her hands still trembled and her knees still buckled. She was going through this but it was not without fears. Azusa saw the silent and sure, albeit nervous, 'yes' in her senior's eyes.

Mugi wrapped her arms around Mio all of a sudden. Mio was surprised but hugged back. Azusa joined in and hugged as tight as she could. They stayed there for a while and then loosened their grips and pulled back. Mio looked at her two friends and nodded.

"_I'm ready."_

Azusa and Mugi felt their hands start to tremble and both clenched them into fists. They were going to be strong for Mio. They could only imagine what the angel was going through so there was no room for selfishness here. There was no room for backing out. They could only proceed forward. They could only see this through the end. Mugi held one of Mio's hands and Azusa held the other. They walked with their friend to one of the edges of the building and helped Mio get on the thin ledge. Mio's feet barely fit and her toes felt the cold air of the night hit them. That didn't help with the jitters at all. She closed her eyes.

_Open yourself up to pain._ Mio told herself. _Open yourself up to vulnerability. You're already open to human emotion. Now you only need to let yourself be mortal. Do this for love. Do this for her. _Mio's eyes flew open with renewed determination. A wave of peace washed over her. She would do this. She would do this because living on for millennia, going back to this moment and regretting not risking everything for her love and happiness was unbearable. She would become human and she would make Ritsu fall in love with her and she would be happy. She would be far from perfect and she knew human life would be messy but she would be happy. Even if Ritsu didn't love her back, she would be happy and would have no regrets.

She turned around to face her friends and looked at them straight in the eyes.

"Thank you. Both of you thank you so much. I might not see both of you again after this, but know that I will never forget you."

She kissed her fingers and blew the kiss towards them, closed her eyes, and let herself fall off the ledge, her back to the unknown, and into whatever would happen next.

Mugi and Azusa watched their friend's image disappear from their view and knew that was their cue to blink themselves to the ground. Every second seemed to stretch for years. _Will they be too late?_ Mio already fell past five floors. _Will they be there too early and watch their friend crash on the ground_? Ten floors already flew by. _Was this a mistake?_ Fifteen floors, the number grew and grew; eighteenth, then twentieth. _Oh, no…_ There were twenty five floors on this building.

Mio felt time run just as slow. She kept her eyes open. She saw the building grow taller and taller and then it suddenly loomed over her and she knew she was close to the ground, so close. She might become human, she might not. She might die from the fall or might cease to exist. She didn't know. She just held onto the hope that everything would turn out right.

Her friends appeared.

And then she hit the ground.

* * *

_The__ Maker watched one of his favorite angels choose human life for the second time. He wondered how many more would follow. There was a pang and an ache at the loss of one of his most priced creations. Mio made Him proud. She was a good angel after all, much better than the normal ones._

_Mio stood at the ledge and she tipped herself over and let go._

_The Maker clenched his fists and gasped._

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

**AN**: The last two were, I admit, not the easiest chapters to write xD I couldn't even decide how to end this one. I still feel like this was too short but I can't continue on with the story just yet :P The rest to come are totally different with what you've read so far but I'll make sure it still gives of the same feeling. There will be more Ritsu and Yui. I miss them. xD I still have a few secrets that I have yet to reveal.

I have new ideas for oneshots and I honestly miss writing in the second person. While writing the last two chapters, I sometimes found myself starting a paragraph or sentece with 'you'. xDDD I want to try my hand at a little bit more humor and fluffiness, also. :D I was thinking of taking a day or two off before writing something again. :) Trust me when I say it won't last for a week. :P I'll be back before you guys know it. Thank you guys again for everything!

**_~pineapurus_**


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